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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

TX-28: The Returns

Posted by Tracy Joan

Note: All times are local (Central) time.

RESULTS [Updated 8:54 p.m.]

Rodriguez: 6,674
Cuellar: 3,051
Morales: 805

Precincts Reporting: 5
Total Precincts: 276

---

[7:30 p.m.] Some gossip:

According to Commissioner's Court sources in Webb County they are unable to report Early Voting because their systems are down.

Let's just hope Webb County doesn't wait to see the votes that they need to win before reporting. Locals claimed it has happened before.

[7:47 p.m.] I am sitting in a small war room, next to Chris Warshaw from DFA who spent most of the day working to Get Out the Vote for Ciro with DFA members here in the 28th.

[7:50 p.m.] Local news in Webb County are now reporting what you heard here, that their systems are down. Note: they use touch screen voting.

[7:53 p.m.] (Personal) I just got a call from Tim Tagaris, who showed me the ropes back in Ohio during the final days of Hackett's race, and I see Bob commenting here as well. These are two guys, along side the rest of the Hackett team trained me for this race and I hope I make them proud.

In the office the phone is ringing off the hook with calls from supporters, calls from poll watchers. Music is playing, food is everywhere and the mood seems generally festive.

[8:02 p.m.] Note that the numbers reporting are from early voting.

[8:11 p.m.] This place is starting to fill up. Early voting numbers are coming in now, we are still waiting to hear more about Webb County's voting systems.

[8:31 p.m.] So why does it take so long for results to come in? It takes about half an hour to shut down the machines. Plus, there are precinct comventions that begin after the polls close and this may delay the delivery of results to the county and then to the state if any of the folks attending the precinct conventions are also election judges.

(Personal): Just got some more good wishes from Joe Rospars on my first guest-blogging effort. Thanks, guys!

Also, note that I am NOT the spokesperson for the Rodriguez campaign tonight - I'm just a blogger capturing the excitement of this night, and following the results with you. Official statements will be clearly indicated as such.

[8:41 p.m.] More reports coming in about problems in Webb County. There might be a road trip in the near future.

[8:53 p.m.] Two representatives from the AFL-CIO have been sent to Webb County to deal with the developments.

Posted at 08:21 PM in Texas | Technorati

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Comments

good stuff so far...

Posted by: danny at March 7, 2006 08:29 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Let's just remember that forcing a runoff is a victory. Their side is tapped out, our side is far from the point of elasticity so forcing a runoff is great news.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at March 7, 2006 08:32 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Webb County Last time (from Rodriguez campaign at the time):

An abnormally high number of voters in Webb County aged 90 years or older prompted an attorney for the Ciro Rodriguez congressional campaign to request an investigation by the Texas Secretary of State. During the first 4 days of early voting, 93 votes were cast by people 90 or over and 51 were 100 or older.

In a message addressed to Kim Thol, Programs Specialist for the Elections Division of the Secretary of State, Luis Vera requested “an immediate appointment for an inspector for Webb County.” Vera reminded Thol, “Webb County has a long history of allegations of voter fraud.” In the 2004 primary election, Vera added, “the fraud made national news.” He was referring to the controversial election between Henry Cuellar and Rodriguez in which ballots, “discovered” days after the polls closed, eventually swung the election to Cuellar by a narrow 58 votes.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at March 7, 2006 08:38 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

PS:

The Texas Secretary of State agreed to place an inspector in Webb County for the March 7 Democratic primary, although the Rodriguez campaign wanted someone on the scene now to monitor early voting.

In his plea to the state for help, Vera said, "Webb County has a long history of allegations of voter fraud."

Oscar Sanchez, campaign manger for Rodriguez, told the San Antonio Express-News, "It just seems like a very high number, especially the people over 100."

Colin Strother, spokesperson for the Cuellar campaign, said the claims are an act of desperation by Rodriguez, reported the San Antonio newspaper.

Strother said Laredo (the major city in Webb County) candidates traditionally stage events aimed at getting seniors to the polls on the first day of early voting.

Editor's Note: This would not be the first occasion in which citizens residing in South Texas cemeteries have been motivated to cast their ballots.

It is estimated there are 50,000 centenarians in the U.S. – about one of every 10,000 people. There are about 193,000 residents of Webb County, which would indicate a centenarian population of about 19.

268% early turnout by expectations of number of people over 100

Posted by: Bob Brigham at March 7, 2006 08:51 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Chris Bell has won the Democratic Nomination for Govenor according to Dallas news.

Posted by: D in FL. at March 7, 2006 09:27 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Webb should be a RED FLAG just as Zapata was in 2004:

The drama surrounding the already spirited race was amplified by election night woes in Zapata County, the southernmost county in the district. Some optical scan equipment broke down and 3,600 ballots had to be counted by hand — a task that took 13 hours to complete.

The problem raised a red flag in Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor's office.

"I am extremely concerned and disappointed by the reporting of election results in Zapata County," Connor said in a written statement released Wednesday. "My office made repeated requests for a timely processing of election returns and found local officials unresponsive."

A faulty computer chip was blamed for the counting delay.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at March 7, 2006 09:39 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Ok -- The San Antonio Express News has a pointer to the Bexar county unofficial 100% returns per the county here:

Bexar: Rodriquez 4910 Cuellar 1395 Morales 385

Posted by: txobserver at March 7, 2006 09:43 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Sorry -- 14.5% of returns. Preview doesn't prevent brain errors!

Posted by: txobserver at March 7, 2006 09:45 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Fer christ's sake, send people to *Bexar* and get them to stop reporting publicly until Webb gets their act together.

Posted by: matt w at March 7, 2006 10:01 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

This site is giving the fastest updates that I've seen.

So far they've got us at...

U.S. House, District 28 (Reporting: 34%)
Ciro Rodriguez, D: 7,754 (64.7%)
Victor Morales, D: 875 (7.3%)
Henry Cuellar, D: 3,351 (28.0%)

Obviously these numbers aren't including Cuellar's strongholds...

Posted by: HellofaSandwich at March 7, 2006 10:07 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Does anyone remember Colin Strother? He was the one who dismissed the netroots effort against Cuellar was a “one-day story.”

In the 2004 election, Mr. Strother voted in Webb County, which became a scandal.

U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez is expected to try to beef up his legal case against Democratic nominee Henry Cuellar today, introducing an amended lawsuit that alleges more than 500 people who voted in the primary here are registered at vacant addresses or at homes where they do not live. [...]

In one case, a primary voter with the same name as Cuellar's campaign manager, Colin Strother, is registered as living with Cuellar's parents in central Laredo.

The Cuellars, in an interview with a reporter Monday, said no one named Strother lives there.

Told of the allegation, Cuellar spokesman T.J. Connolly said that when Strother agreed to work on Cuellar's campaign, he was given a salary and the option to live in a rental property at Cuellar's parents' home.

Strother reportedly registered and voted at that address, although he has been living with his wife in another location outside of District 28 as part of her employment compensation. The two have been planning to relocate to the Cuellar residence, but furor over the campaign has kept them from doing so, Connolly said.

This wasn't the only problem in Webb County, the Laredo Times reports:

After the stunning Tuesday developments in the recount of Democratic primary ballots in Webb and Zapata counties, Laredoan Henry Cuellar increased his lead Wednesday by another four votes over Congressman Ciro Rodriguez of San Antonio. [...]

While Webb officials found an additional 115 ballots on their hands, Cuellar picked up 177 extra votes, and Rodriguez picked up none.

That morning, in neighboring Zapata, election officials found an additional 304 votes, not ballots, during its recount. This allowed Cuellar to pick up an extra 237 votes, while Rodriguez picked up 67.

And this year's race has seen major problems in early voting in Webb County. Just look at the Centenarians:

An abnormally high number of voters in Webb County aged 90 years or older prompted an attorney for the Ciro Rodriguez congressional campaign to request an investigation by the Texas Secretary of State. During the first 4 days of early voting, 93 votes were cast by people 90 or over and 51 were 100 or older.

In a message addressed to Kim Thol, Programs Specialist for the Elections Division of the Secretary of State, Luis Vera requested “an immediate appointment for an inspector for Webb County.” Vera reminded Thol, “Webb County has a long history of allegations of voter fraud.” In the 2004 primary election, Vera added, “the fraud made national news.” He was referring to the controversial election between Henry Cuellar and Rodriguez in which ballots, “discovered” days after the polls closed, eventually swung the election to Cuellar by a narrow 58 votes.

By percentage of population = 268% early turnout:

Fifty-one centenarians - senior citizens that have made it to age 100 - have already voted in the first week of early voting in Webb County. Joining the centenarians at the polls were 93 seniors over age 90. At least that is what an attorney for a congressional candidate claims has happened in this district that stretches the length of South Texas from San Antonio to Mexico. [...]

Editor's Note: This would not be the first occasion in which citizens residing in South Texas cemeteries have been motivated to cast their ballots.

It is estimated there are 50,000 centenarians in the U.S. – about one of every 10,000 people. There are about 193,000 residents of Webb County, which would indicate a centenarian population of about 19.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at March 7, 2006 10:07 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

It takes longer than 30 minutes to close out a precinct. Many counties in Texas were using new voting equipment for the first time today as the state comes into compliance with HAVA. In my heavily Republican precinct in Fort Worth, it took me 75 minutes to close out tonight... and we had only 32 Democratic voters today.

Then, the results have to be taken by car to a collection center, where an election judge might have to wait another ten or fifteen minutes to check everything in. What happens from there isn't clear to me.

And, as you said, there also is a precinct convention that's supposed to happen at 7:15. If people actually show up for that, it can delay things by as much as an hour (if the election judge chooses to participate).

Posted by: chris at March 7, 2006 10:39 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Doesn't look so good with Cuellar running ahead of his last performance in about every county. But it's not clear that Morales won't provide enough votes to force a runoff.

Posted by: Blue Counties Colorado at March 7, 2006 11:28 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment